Ann Coulter Slammed by Conservatives for Dissing Soccer

Conservative columnist Ann Coulter has been shown a red card for her controversial comments criticizing the World Cup and calling soccer a girls’ game.

On the eve of the United States game against Belgium, Coulter has been blasted by fellow conservatives who have scoffed at her claim that "any growing interest in soccer can only be a sign of the nation’s moral decay," Politico reported.

On Fox & Friends, host Brian Kilmeade attacked Coulter, saying, "I will outline what she said and try to find anything factual in it. That will be an interesting little exercise."

Although millions of Americans are watching every match in the tournament being held in Brazil, especially the U.S. team, Coulter suggested that only Americans of Hispanic descent are viewing the games.

"If more 'Americans' are watching soccer today, it’s only because of the demographic switch effected by Teddy Kennedy’s 1965 immigration law," Coulter said.

"I promise you: No American whose great-grandfather was born here is watching soccer. One can only hope that, in addition to learning English, these new Americans will drop their soccer fetish with time."

But her remarks have been given the boot by Talking Points Memo writer Catherine Thompson in a column that showed a spoof composite photo of Coulter bouncing a soccer ball on her head.

"It’s worth noting that aside from the Olympics, the World Cup is really the only occasion when an American audience gets a chance to cheer on a national — rather than a regional — sports team," Thompson wrote. "But apparently that doesn’t jibe with Coulter’s vision of patriotism."

Forbes magazine ran a story with a headline that blared, "How Ann Coulter Lost Her Mind Over World Cup Soccer," while Business Insider Executive Editor Joe Weisenthal tweeted, "The Ann Coulter trolling on soccer is so wea k… She’s lost her fastball."

Coulter said that soccer, known as "football" in the rest of the world, is not a real man’s sport like American football.

"After a football game, ambulances carry off the wounded," she said. "After a soccer game, every player gets a ribbon and a juice box."

She also poked fun at the Uruguay star Luis Suarez biting an Italian player during a game, tweeting, "More evidence soccer is for girls. Player from Uruguay caught biting an opponent yesterday. Not punching. Not a cross-body block. Biting."

But ESPN sports radio host Colin Crawford said on "The Herd" that soccer is just one more thing that conservatives find hard to accept, according to Politico.